I Was Erased Alive

Synopsis

It was my third year back with the Peyton family when Esther Peyton, the girl who took my place, jumped into the sea. Her final words were, "I wish I could be Mom's real daughter if I had another life." That pushed Mom over the edge and turned her hatred toward me. Mom yelled at me more than once, "Why did it have to be her? Why couldn't it have been you? If there had to be a mistake, why couldn't we just live with it? Why did you have to come back?" Even when I was insulted and bullied, she thought I was a disgrace and made me bow my head and apologize to the ones who hurt me. Mom snapped at me, "If something goes wrong, you're always to blame." Weeks after what everyone thought was Esther's death, I broke the cup she had used. Blinded by anger, Mom shoved me into the basement of the old house and locked me in. At first, someone remembered to bring me food, but as time went on, they all forgot about me. Six months later, Esther, the girl they all thought was dead, walked back through the door, and the whole family broke down in tears of joy. Mom finally opened the basement door. All that remained inside was a set of bones and a diary. On the last page of the diary were my final words. I wrote: [I don't want to be Mom's real daughter if I had another life.]